Technology enables us to reach
into space
and see what no man has seen before.
But what do we behold
if we aim to see with our eyes closed
and our mind
shackled?

What really is it that we want to achieve with space exploration? Do we want
to sample ancient rocks from distant planets in the search for traces of life?
Or do we ultimately want to explore "new worlds and new civilizations"
as a TV series once suggested? But why would we bother with this this, provided
we could reach that far, seeing that we have not yet begun to fully explore our
own civilization and the dimension of our own humanity? We look at ourselves
with closed eyes and a shackled mind. Wouldn't we look at the universe in the
same fashion and miss the very point of our exploration?

The story, ^Miracle Images,^ is about a fantastic space voyage of many years
in duration, to the closest solar system. At mid point a scout probe returns
with miraculous images of the targeted planet, including TV broadcast
recordings. Everyone on board begins to learn the new language. By the time the
planet is reached, everyone is fluent. With great anticipation a shuttle is
launched, contacts are made, except nobody thought that an advanced culture,
like the one that had created the marvelous structures that everybody had seen
images of, could be caught up in a cultural decay like a dying bird that has
broken its wings and thus treats its visitors accordingly.

The story, Miracle Images, is a SCIFI space exploration story from the
novel, Flight without Limits, by Rolf A. F. Witzsche. The story ends in
tragedy as the explorers step into an environment of cultural war.